A traditional aspect of gift-giving or gift-exchanging in many cultures involves concealing the gift within a decorative wrapping, which is usually decorative paper. Wrapping a gift in decorative paper adds to the recipient's pleasure and anticipation by creating an aura of beauty and mystery about the gift. Choosing decorative wrapping paper that matches the occasion further contributes to the generosity and pleasure of giving and receiving the gift.
Although wrapping the gift in decorative paper is a desirable enhancement to giving, receiving and exchanging gifts, the decorative wrapping paper is usually used only once and is then discarded as trash. This wasteful practice creates a variety of different environmental issues. The decorative wrapping paper is usually manufactured from wood pulp obtained from trees. More extensive use of decorative wrapping paper requires that more trees be cut and processed for paper production. Used wrapping paper which has become trash often ends up in landfills and contributes to the problem of waste disposal in general.
Another environmental issue related to traditional gift wrapping using decorative wrapping paper involves the common practice of wrapping the gift in a cardboard or other semi-rigid paper-product gift box. The gift box establishes a geometric shape which is more easily covered with the decorative wrapping paper. Many gifts have irregular shapes or are flexible in nature, which makes them difficult to cover with the wrapping paper in an aesthetic manner. Attempts to wrap odd-shaped or flexible gifts without first putting them into a box usually results in unsightly wrinkles, gaps in coverage, and possibly even tears in the decorative wrapping paper. On the other hand, placing the gift in a rectangular or other regular geometrically-shaped box allows the box to be covered with the decorative wrapping paper in a pleasantly appearing manner. Using a box when wrapping a gift becomes another requirement for giving and exchanging decoratively wrapped gifts in their most aesthetically pleasing form.
The boxes used to contain gifts also contribute to environmental issues. Boxes are typically made from paper, and the paper is derived from wood pulp. Wrapping a box which holds the gift also uses more decorative wrapping paper than would be used from wrapping the gift itself, because the box has a greater surface area which must be covered by the decorative wrapping paper. After the wrapping paper is removed and the gift is taken from the box, both the wrapping paper and the box are frequently discarded as trash. Using the box and the wrapping paper contributes to excessive consumption and waste disposal problems.
Wrapping a gift with decorative wrapping paper usually requires, in addition to the gift box, adhesive tape and a ribbon. The adhesive tape is required to hold the decorative paper in place over the gift box, and the ribbon is traditionally included to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the wrapped gift box. The adhesive tape and the ribbon also frequently become trash which must be discarded. The act of wrapping the box or gift with decorative wrapping paper also requires physical dexterity that young persons and those persons with physical disabilities or ineptitude may lack. Wrapping the gift is also time consumptive. In some circumstances, the decorative wrapping paper may not be sufficiently durable to resist tearing or pulling away. Under such circumstances, the aesthetic appearance of the decoration may be diminished and viewing the gift through a separation in the wrapping paper may provide a clue to the recipient concerning the nature of the gift. There are many other disadvantages associated with using decorative wrapping paper and boxes to give and exchange gifts.
One solution to some of the disadvantages of using decorative wrapping paper is to use a gift sack. A gift sack is a bag or container, typically made of flexible material such as cloth or paper, which is used to contain and conceal the gift. Use of the gift sack does not require wrapping the gift in decorative paper, since the gift is placed directly into the gift sack itself which is typically decorative. One disadvantage associated with using a paper gift sack is that it frequently becomes trash after the gift has been given. Another disadvantage of a gift sack is that it is typically sized and shaped to accept gifts of a certain size, or a limited range of sizes. If the gift sack is unduly large compared to the size of the gift, the gift sack appears out of proportion from an aesthetic standpoint and can even be mistaken as empty. Sometimes the gift sacks have a non-closable opening which requires additional decorative papers to be placed into the gift sack to conceal the gift within it. Other types of gift sacks which have a closable opening are still sized and shaped to accept gifts of a limited range of sizes.
Many gift sacks, particularly those made from fabric, lack a convenient location to affix a gift card which identifies the intended recipient and the person giving the gift. Cards are often affixed to decorative wrapping paper with adhesive tape. Gift sacks which are made from fabric usually do not permit the tape to adhere sufficiently to the fabric to prevent the card from becoming disconnected from the gift sack. Cards can also be attached by using a ribbon or string, but there must be a place for the card to be attached to the gift sack, and there must be some method of attaching the card to the gift sack. Although the ribbon or string can be attached to the card by extending it through a hole punched in the card or in an envelope for the card, the gift sack generally does not have a convenient way to attach the ribbon or string. Consequently, the ribbon or string may be permanently sewed or attached to the gift sack, which can create a relatively unaesthetic appearance if the ribbon or string is not used.